This is the story of my life in Buffalo, N.Y. where I write and draw. I am finishing up the biography of the great American pianist Leonard Pennario, a massive project I began 11 years ago when I had the unbelievable good fortune to get to know him. I also love to sketch.
The blog on this page features my adventures in art and other things. The Music Critic blog -- click the link on the right and down a bit -- has my thoughts on music. Thank you for visiting!

Monday, April 18, 2011

All clean!

Today I finally took my car in to be purged of the effects of the Kenmore snowplow that plowed into me while I was sitting innocently and law-abidingly at that light. I do not even want to get into that right now because it is poisonous but if you will, please internalize my outrage here.

The good news about all this:

I discovered the joys of the car wash!

Howard told me, and I imagine he is right, that your car will be treated better if you bring it in spanking clean. There was no getting out of it because he was observing and tracking me. And so, even though it was a cruddy day out yesterday and I had a ton of work to do, I got all my stuff out of my car -- gym clothes, sneakers, umbrellas, Leonard Pennario CDs.

Then I prepared for a rare trip to Delta Sonic.

I did not grow up going to car washes, is one reason I never go. When I was a kid we would be dying to go through the old Blue Whale car wash that used to sit out on Colvin in Tonawanda.

"Dad, can't we go there?" we would plead. The whale was so cool. You drove in its mouth and drove out its rear.

My dad would say, not unkindly, no.

He would wash the family station wagon himself. And I have very sweet childhood memories of spending Saturday afternoons out in the driveway while he soaped the car down and we floated blades of grass in the rivulets running down to the street. Yes, kiddies, that was life before video games.

Anyway it is very un-Kunz to pay for a car wash. And if Howard was watching me critically over one shoulder I felt my dad watching me critically over the other shoulder. So one thing I figured out was, you can get on the Delta Sonic Web site and sign up for their email deals and they will let you print out, immediately, a coupon for a free car wash! I did that. Huzzah!

Because it was raining and snowing and sleeting, also because it was Monday morning, there was absolutely no action at the car wash. I was the only customer. That was lucky because I did not know my way around.

At the booth you go through to start with, the young woman rattled off something to me, my choices and directions, and I was completely at sea.

"I can't understand you," I was reduced finally to saying.

I had them do the interior which was $8 over the free car wash.

They give you a scent for your car and they had asked me which one I wanted. I had no idea so I said, "What do you recommend?" The kid said, "New Car." So that is what I got, the New Car scent.

End result, as we say here in Buffalo: I got into my car and I could not get over how good it felt!

I am going to get it cleaned more often. Your life might be falling down around your ears but at least your car can be clean and nice and that would feel good.